For daily wit & wisdom, get the Almanac newsletter.

Tomato Hornworms: How to Identify, Control, and Prevent Them

Image Credit:
Amanda Hill
Written By: Catherine Boeckmann Executive Digital Editor and Master Gardener

Big, green, and hungry—tomato hornworms can wipe out your tomato crop almost overnight. These giant caterpillars love to feast on tomato leaves and fruit, and they won’t stop there. Peppers, eggplants, and potatoes are also on their menu.

”This one is nobody’s friend if you’re a gardener and like to grow tomatoes,” says entomologist Jeff Smith, curator of the Bohart Museum of Entomology’s Lepidoptera collection.

The good news is that these pests are easy to spot once you know what to look for, and they can be controlled without resorting to harsh chemicals. In this guide, learn how to identify tomato hornworms, understand their life cycle, and discover effective natural ways to get rid of them—plus tips to keep them from coming back next year.

🐛 Hornworms munching your tomatoes? Our Almanac Garden Club members get exclusive pest guides, expert webinars, and practical tips to protect their crops. Protect Your Garden Now.

What Are Tomato Hornworms?

If you’ve ever walked out to your tomato plants and found bare stems where lush foliage used to be, chances are hornworms were at work.

  • The tomato hornworm (Manduca quinquemaculata) and the closely related tobacco hornworm (Manduca sexta) are garden pests found throughout most of the U.S. and southern Canada.
  • Both species feed on plants in the nightshade family (Solanaceae): tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, tobacco, and potatoes.
  • Because of their size and appetite, a small number of hornworms can defoliate plants quickly.

These pests are the larval stage of large night-flying moths (sphinx or hawk moths).

Tomato Hornworm crawling on a tomato vine.
Tomato troublemaker in action—meet the tomato hornworm! Photo by Amanda Hill.

Identification

How to Identify Tomato Hornworms

Look for big, green worms on tomato plants! Hornworms are some of the largest caterpillars in the garden. Key features include:

  • Color: Pale green with V-shaped white markings along the body
  • Horn: Dark, pointed “horn” protruding from the rear
  • Camouflage: Blends almost perfectly with tomato leaves, making them tricky to spot
  • Size: Can reach up to 4–5 inches in length

Tip: Inspect your tomato plants daily. Check the undersides of leaves for eggs and watch for early signs of feeding damage.

Tomato Hornworm vs. Tobacco Hornworm

Both species damage tomato plants, but here’s how to tell them apart:

  • Tomato hornworm: White V-shaped markings; black horn
  • Tobacco hornworm: Diagonal white stripes with black spots; red horn
tobacco hornworm
Can you tell which hornworm this is? 
(It’s a tobacco hornworm! Notice the white stripes with dotted black lines and a red “horn.”) 

Signs of Tomato Hornworm Damage

  • Chewed or missing leaves, often starting at the top of the plant
  • Wilted stems and bare stalks
  • Dark green droppings (frass) on leaves or soil
  • Chewed fruit and sunscald on tomatoes (caused by loss of leaf cover)

Tomato Hornworm Life Cycle

Understanding the life cycle helps you prevent infestations:

  1. Eggs: Laid on undersides of leaves in late spring; hatch within 1 week
  2. Larvae (hornworms): Feed heavily for 3–4 weeks
  3. Pupae: Burrow into soil to overwinter in a cocoon
  4. Adult moths: Five-spotted hawk moths emerge in spring to repeat the cycle

In warmer regions, there may be two generations per year.

Tomato hornworm moth (female)
Tomato hornworm moth (female). Look out for the moths in late spring. Photo by Didier Descouens/Wikimedia Commons.

Control and Prevention

How to Get Rid of Tomato Hornworms

1. Handpicking

  • The most effective method for small gardens:
  • Check plants daily and remove caterpillars by hand
  • Drop them in soapy water, or feed them to backyard chickens

2. Use Organic Controls

  • Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt): A safe, natural bacterium that kills young caterpillars (must be ingested).
  • Neem oil or insecticidal soap: Can work on small caterpillars, but less effective on large hornworms

3. Encourage Natural Predators

  • Parasitic wasps lay eggs on hornworms (you may see white cocoons attached)
  • Ladybugs, green lacewings, and birds also feed on eggs and larvae

If you find a hornworm covered with white cocoons, leave it—the wasps will do the control work for you

A tobacco hornworm covered with parasitic wasp eggs.
Nature’s drama! A tobacco hornworm becomes a nursery for parasitic wasps.

How to Prevent Hornworm Infestations

  • Till soil in fall or spring to destroy overwintering pupae (up to 90% mortality)
  • Rotate crops—avoid planting tomatoes in the same spot year after year
  • Use companion planting: Interplant dill or basil to deter pests; plant marigolds at borders
  • Attract  beneficial insects  by planting nectar-rich flowers

Frequently Asked Questions

Do tomato hornworms bite?
No. They look intimidating, but they cannot sting or bite humans.

What does a tomato hornworm turn into?
A large five-spotted hawk moth, also called a sphinx or hummingbird moth.

When do tomato hornworms appear?
Eggs are laid in late spring, and larvae are most destructive from June through August.

Can tomato hornworms eat other plants?
Yes. They also feed on peppers, potatoes, eggplants, and tobacco.

More Help for Gardeners: See our Garden Pest and Disease Library for tips on other common problems.

Do you have tomato hornworms? How do you handle them in the garden?

Garden Pests

About The Author

Catherine Boeckmann

Catherine Boeckmann

Executive Digital Editor and Master Gardener

Catherine Boeckmann loves nature, stargazing, and gardening so it’s not surprising that she and The Old Farmer’s Almanac found each other. She leads digital content for the Almanac website, and is also a certified master gardener in the state of Indiana.

Read more from Catherine Boeckmann

More Like This

Comments

<span>Geod</span> Mon, 07/22/2013 - 23:08
I don't think that idea will work. Pennies haven't been made with copper for many years.
<span>Marie Ah Fong</span> Thu, 07/04/2013 - 12:37
Since the moth lays the eggs on the leaves, it makes since to me, that the worms hatch in the leaves, and never have to crawl up the stem, that is in the ground. Thus the penny, whether it has copper in it or not, would be ineffective.
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Mon, 04/08/2013 - 20:24
Many gardeners say copper pennies deter snails and slugs. However, only pennies before 1982 are made of copper; now they are mainly zinc. See our Pest section for good ways to deter differently kinds of worms.
<span>Pammiekate</span> Wed, 03/20/2013 - 15:58
Has anyone tried to use beneficial nematodes to control tomato hornworms? We had a flea problem in the backyard and were looking for nonchemical flea control when we came across beneficial nematodes. We released three different varieties which will invade and use pests in the soil as hosts, killing them. beneficial nematodes do not harm plants or animals, only soil dwelling pests.
<span>Royce</span> Sun, 02/24/2013 - 00:49
I used to have hornworms I used to get hornworms on my tomato plants every year but ten years ago they disappeared, and this year I discovered their demise was caused by Spined Soldier Bugs that live in my garden. The Soldier Bugs look like brown watermelon seeds with a tent-shaped back and sharp points on their shoulders. They pierce other bugs with a sharp beak and suck their juices out, but their favorite food is tomato worms and every plant has one patrolling it.
<span>Sue Cellini Ak…</span> Wed, 01/02/2013 - 07:44
This year I put ducks in the garden and they patrolled for bugs all season long. I found not a single hornworm on my tomatoes!
<span>Milanie</span> Sun, 03/03/2013 - 14:43
I remember this from my childhood and it works. But only if ducks are allowed where you live which unfortunately is not the norm these days.
<span>Diann</span> Wed, 10/31/2012 - 16:27
I seem to get these SOBs every year. Have done everything from seven to plucking them off. I HAVE discovered that if they have stripped a branch of leaves and you pluck off the worm that the leaves WILL grow back and they CAN produce after that. Now that I know what the Moth that starts this crap looks like I can KILL the MOMS and DADS of these dang things. Side story. I have two container pots of tomates that I have brought in for the season, and I am getting tomatoes from them. Imagine my surprise when I found TWO of these SOBs on my INDOOR TOMATOS! That SAME day I found a HUGE moth in the kitchen, across from where the plants are. We took it outside. If I had known then that THIS was the MOTHER!!! I would have killed it and been done with it. Noooo I let it LIVE! "I'll get you next time you ugly!"
<span>Judy Atwater</span> Wed, 07/03/2013 - 13:10
Thanks for the laugh! I just came inside to get on the internet to identify this little creature because they have destroyed 4 tomato plants overnight. I squished two that I found but I know there are more out there. I couldn't wait for the white pods to change into a wasp!!! There has to be a solution to this problem. Somebody needs to HELP us out here so we can enjoy our fresh tomatoes.
<span>Sonji Nalley</span> Fri, 06/21/2013 - 11:20
Loved reading this. I found an UGLY on my tomatoes yesterday and tried to figure out what the heck it was. Thanks to this link, I identified it and am now looking for the MOTHER of this SOB! Mine had eggs attached, which I am assuming are wasp eggs. It is now in a zip lock bag and not long for this world. Perhaps I should let it go because the baby wasp will soon have it to snack on...or I'm assuming so! Thanks for your enlightening comments! Happy Gardening!! Fondly, Sonji